In this collection of short stories, different individuals from different worlds discover that the reality they thought they lived in is not reality at all. Anne discovers that she has a secret power to conjure a previously unseen world. A soldier in the Civil War encounters a mysterious hut where he can hide and heal from his wounds. Elaine is disturbed by the deafening silence of the city around her and discovers that conversation is going on--it's just that she can't hear it. Myra Owen goes to Kinko's one day, unaware she is about to come upon a divine and holy work. A young girl goes fishing and her life is changed forever. In other award-winning stories, a bird arrives, bearing an unexpected message and a train appears in the middle of the night. This collection of seven short stories includes two new previously-unpublished works, and also an Author's Note, in which the origin of each tale and the process by which it was written is discussed.